It Takes a (Christmas) Village?

#Reverb Day 6 Prompt: Make: What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Thanks, Gretchen Rubin)

I made cookies (seen pictured), 500 or so of them for a church fundraiser. Well, actually I just rolled and cut and baked them, and shopped for the ingredients. So I didn’t make ALL of them, start to finish. I had help:

1. Anna made the dough from my great-grandmother’s recipe.

2. Linda made the icing, many shades.

3. Jeff and Diane set up the tables.

4. Stephanie spooned the nonpareils into her mouth.

5. Pat made the Stars of David.

6. Ellen made the striped mittens.

7. Becca made the sprinkle mountain.

8. MANY other friends iced and frosted and decorated, oh my.

Which leads me to a more pressing bell that has been ringing in my head recently:

Doesn’t it really take a village? Why are we always waving flags and singing songs for independence, when activities seem to come to conclusion more pleasantly with help and company?

Case in point: #Reverb10. Yes, I do blog anyway. Sure, I am capable of weaving my own thoughts and posting them at regular intervals.

But isn’t gathering like (and sometimes unlike) minds to convene on a concept so much more valuable? When we think in tandem, our ideas multiply exponentially.

So the “village” isn’t a place to agree or to rub each others’ metaphorical egos. The village is a place of our own making, where we feel safe to share our scariest and most magical selves. It’s where we live– cry, hide, and grow.

And, for me, the best part about the village is that it is filled with people who help me FINISH THINGS!

You can #reverb10, too! It’s not too late! Find out more & join in this creative exercise here.

Elizabeth Howard

Elizabeth writes literary non-fiction, haiku, cultural rants, and Demand Poetry in order to forward the cause of beautiful writing. She teaches and speaks about the rhetorical impact of beautiful writing. A recent transplant to Connecticut, she calls London, Kansas City, and Iowa home. View all posts by Elizabeth Howard →

Yes it DOES! And this is the year for me to realize that I have more than one village…I’ve got an awesome one here in sunny California, but I’ve got an online one too. Those folks I know only by electrons are an amazing group of people, and they help me get through the days! Hooray!

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